thealbatross

semi-professional stableboy

  • he/him

Sam.
Talk to me about baduk or Star Trek!

Teach me to cook your favorite dish!!


I recently moved and while I love the new place, there are far fewer good Asian restaurants nearby and the local wing options are serviceable, but nothing like the Korean ones I was spoiled with. After a few frustrating semi-sober wing outings I realized if I wanted something done right, I'd have to (try to) do it myself.

I'm not too experienced making deep-fried foods outside of sufganiyot for Hanukkah, but I had oil, a large pan and a probe thermometer, so I figured I might as well practice.

INGREDIENTS

For Wings

  • Vegetable Oil (Enough to cover wings plus an inch)
  • 1 lbs. Chicken Wings (flats and drums separated)
  • ½ tsp. "Umami Dust" (mixture of ground dried mushroom, salt, MSG)
  • ¼ tsp. White Pepper
  • ¼ tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
  • 1 tsp. Minced Ginger
  • ¼ cup Potato Starch

For Sauce

  • 1.5 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
  • 5 Small Hot Chilis with seeds (slivered)
  • 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
  • 1 tsp. Minced Ginger
  • ⅛ cup Gochujang
  • ⅛ cup Honey
  • 1 Tbsp. Ketchup (Red Duck)
  • ½ Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
  • ½ Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. packed Brown Sugar

For Garnish

  • Roasted Peanuts
  • Toasted Sesame Seeds
  • 1 Green Onion (sliced)

METHOD

  1. Heat oil to 375°F. Line a baking sheet or plate with paper towels.
  2. Pat chicken wings dry and mix with ginger and garlic. Season with "Umami Dust", baking powder and white pepper, mixing until evenly coated. Toss seasoned wings in potato starch, squeezing hard to adhere coating.
  3. Carefully adding the wings, fry chicken until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and set aside on prepared paper towels. Let rest while you prepare the sauce.
  4. Heat a medium saucepan to medium-low heat and add oil. Combine gochujang, vinegar, soy sauce, and ketchup in a small bowl and set aside. Once the oil is hot, add ginger, garlic, and chilis and fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add gochujang mixture and cook until bubbling, then adding honey and brown sugar and stir occasionally until slightly thickened and bubbling.
  5. Heat fry oil to 400°F and refry chicken until well golden, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from oil, dry with paper towels and transfer to a large bowl to combine with sauce and peanuts, then toss until very well coated.

To Serve: Plate in an attractive, sticky pile and generously top with sesame seeds and sprinkle with green onions. Eat immediately after serving for maximum crunchiness and serve with a cold, crisp beer for maximum enjoyment. Ginger beer is a great accompaniment for teetotalers!

NOTES

  • This recipe uses A LOT of oil. Don't waste that! Strain through a cheesecloth and sieve and store for later meat frying usage. Be sure to label it as chicken oil!!
  • You can adjust the gochujang and chilis to taste for your own heat level enjoyment. I used some fairly hot chilis, but know that cooking the sauce tends to mild it out a bit.

This is a super tasty recipe and I'm mostly happy with how it turned out, but I'd make a few revisions for next one. One, I totally forgot the fucking peanuts and I had bought them for the sole purpose of having them here. Fuck! Two, I'd probably fry them in peanut oil next time, I think it would be just a tad tastier. Third, the recipe I was trying to mimic from the Korean chicken restaurant had much flakier chicken. Larger, more defined flakes on the coating. I'm not sure how to achieve that, so if any of you have any advice I'm all ears. Lastly, this was fairly spicy, but next time I think I'd add more chilis and make it hotter. I'm a glutton for capsaicin, though.

Tell me what you think about this recipe!!! Did I lay it out well? Are the directions easy to follow and understand? Did you make this and enjoy it? Any and all comments appreciated!